The Uniqueness of no one else but YOU!!!

Check out the video below:
In a place and time during the year and in history where almost every bit of energy we have is spent focused on something outside ourselves, we MUST stop, take a breath, now breeeeeathe out and recall just how amazing you are put together.

There is a new system of identification that according to some authorities, will make P.I.N. numbers, passwords and other forms of identification obsolete. Its called Biometric Identification. Everyone is familiar with the most commonly used form of this type of identification--fingerprints. However, there are others, some that are even more accurate than a fingerprint. Face technology looks at a scan of the entire face utilizing 50 points around the nose, mouth, eyes, brow and jaw. The weakness of the system is, of course, identical twins, but growing a beard or putting on weight will also alter the facial structure. The hand, like the face, is another identification system. It has unique geometric shapes and sizes. Most of us are familiar with voice prints and, of course, DNA, although the latter is not practical at this time to be used at an ATM or at the supermarket.

The most technical biometric identification to be used is the iris of the eye. While a fingerprint has only 40 measurable characteristics, the iris of the eye has 266. Even if a third of the information is mismatched, it can still make a positive identification. We truly unique individuals.

Just as there is a uniqueness about our face, our iris and our fingerprint, there is also a uniqueness about the inside workings of our body. No two people are alike as far as physiological needs. One person's insulin needs are different than another person's. Even the exact quality of the insulin is a little different. Two people may eat the exact same meal but the digestive juices necessary to break down that meal and make it useful to the body are totally different. Every person's blood chemistry is slightly different. Our caloric intake needs vary from person to person and within the same person from day to day. There are literally millions of different measurable characteristics within human beings. How could any doctor know all these needs for any one person let alone for all his patients? The fact is that he cannot. The worst that can happen with biometric identification is a case of mistaken identity. The worst that can happen with a mistake in knowing what a person's internal, chemical needs are is death, and that happens thousands of times a year. We simply cannot know the unique biochemical needs of the body. That is why medicine is not a science but an art. It is making educated guesses on a daily basis regarding people's health.

Unlike medical science, the upper cervical doctor does not attempt to conform a person to a standard or norm which is really unknown to the doctor. Upper Cervical doctors recognize that the body has a self-healing, self-regulating mechanism to it, what we refer to as innate intelligence, in other words inborn wisdom. It is this God-given self-regulating principle that has stored these billions upon billions of unique characteristics and can meet all your body's needs on a moment by moment basis. The problem with biometric identification is that it cannot adapt if you put on some weight or change the features of your face. The innate intelligence of the body, however, can adapt to changes in your body as well as changes in the environment. To accomplish this adaptation a communication system is necessary. That system in human beings and all animals is the nerve system. If it should be damaged due to misalignment of structure then that which is uniquely you cannot be expressed. Better put, you are no longer self-healing and self-regulating. The objective of the upper cervical doctor is to make a correction and allow your body to heal. Less adjusting, Better results. Happy Holidays!

Like a Snowflake

Watching snow fall on a winter day is a beautiful experience. What is awe-inspiring is the knowledge that the inches of snow piling up are made up of billions upon billions of individual snowflakes and that no two of them are alike. Now of course, that is a supposition inasmuch as no one has ever checked all the snowflakes in the world to make sure that there are no duplicates, but no one has yet found two that are the same. I am sure there is a scientific technical reason why no two snowflakes are the same but on the surface it seems rather a mystery. The water coming from the clouds is the same--two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. The temperature is the same for each snowflake. If anything, you would think that they should all look alike. Perhaps the most interesting aspect is the fact that until the discovery of the microscope, it was generally thought that they were all alike. When you look at snowflakes coming down, they sure look identical.

The human body is similar to a snowflake. At first glance we all seem the same, two eyes, a nose and a mouth. However, you do not have to look too closely and you do not need a microscope to realize that we are all different. We can be thankful for that. Imagine trying to find a friend in a crowd if everyone looked alike! The slight differences in the arrangement of the eyes, nose and mouth makes each and every one of us unique. Not only are we different on the outside, but we are different on the inside as well. Your stomach, your lungs, your gallbladder, your heart and all of your organs are all a little different from the next person's. Consequently, they also fit together a little differently than the next person's. This results in countless physiological differences in our bodies including body chemistry.

Our body chemistry is made up of thousands of chemicals necessary for health and life and it is specific both in quantity and quality just for us. What is normal for one person might be fatal for another. Differences in even one of thousands of variables, like a person's blood, is so important that a blood transfusion cannot be done until they are sure the different blood type is compatible. Like a snowflake, it is not until we get to the most minute aspects that we see the most important differences.

It would be nice if we were all identical. There would be no rejection of organ transplants. If a drug worked for one person, it would work the same for everyone. Every person's nutritional requirements would be the same. However, we are not all the same. We are all different.

Upper cervical doctors recognize that difference. We understand that the human body is different in everyone and to try to guess what its needs are or what is normal, is just that, a guess. The fortunate part is that we have within us a built-in mechanism designed to regulate the thousands of chemicals and the thousands of chemical reactions that take place every minute of every day. In upper cervical care we call this ability the innate intelligence or inborn wisdom of the body. It is working from birth, actually from conception until death. It is never turned off, never takes a vacation, never gets tired, and the interesting part is that, it is identical in every person, 100% perfect.

Unfortunately, it does not always express itself perfectly. You see, innate intelligence needs and uses the nerve system to coordinate and control all the functions of the body. When one of the vertebrae become misaligned out of their proper position, nerve damage occurs and the body simply cannot work as it was intended. That is where upper cervical doctors come in. We do not try to determine what is normal for the body but merely assist the body in moving the bones back into place, which allows the nerve system to once again be used by the innate intelligence of the body to normalize function. This is why you should have your spine checked on a regular basis by an upper cervical chiropractor, to ensure your nerve system is functioning at its best.

Upper Cervical Care

Upper cervical patients are divided into two general categories. The first category includes a large number of patients who utilize upper cervical to enable their bodies to work better so that they might heal themselves of some condition or symptom. They understand that the doctor is not treating the condition or attempting to alleviate the symptom but that if he or she can correct the misalignment, the body will have greater capacity to heal itself. They come in to have their spine corrected and find that their bodies work at a higher level, quite often high enough to get well of the physical problems they had when they arrived. Thousands of people have had their health restored because when nerve irritation is removed in the upper cervical spine, the principle that heals and runs the trillions of cells in the body is free to work a lot better. Sadly though, many of these people do not fully utilize upper cervical care.

The second group of people realize that the same principle that enables the body to get well can also keep it well. They do not use upper cervical care as merely a way of regaining their health but as part of an overall, health-maintenance program. They come regularly whether they feel good or not. The know that being adjusted will enable them to express more life in numerous ways, some we cannot even measure. We do know that you can have more energy, better coordination, more flexibility, a greater ability to handle stress, and a greater benefit from the food, exercise, and sleep you get. All of this from regular corrections? Absolutely!! Which of the above is not affected by your spine and nerve system? Logically, a better nerve system has to help accomplish all of the above. How much benefit depends on you, but everyone will have a better functioning body with a good nerve supply.

Not only do these people come regularly but they also bring their families in and refer friends and relatives for upper cervical care. They know that it is far better to get someone under care while they are still healthy than to wait until they manifest the symptoms of lack of health. They want everyone to experience some of the benefits of upper cervical care. What we really desire as an upper cervical health care facility is to see hundreds of people who are concerned enough about their health to come in regularly with their families to receive corrections and stay healthy.

Reprinted with permission
from Daniel O. Clark, DC
(702) 896-9228

Health Care Re-Formed

(Take a look at the link below for some statistics of our health care system.)
http://www.webdc.com/pdfs/deathbymedicine.pdf

There is a concerning problem in the "health care" system. This problem is frightening to those of us who are involved in the delivery of health care. The problem is that as much as some people like to attack medicine and its shortcomings and dangers, the fact is that medical practice is becoming more and more effective every year. Now some may be wondering how that is a problem. If drugs are becoming more effective, isn't that good? If the side-effects of drugs are being diminished, isn't that beneficial? If surgical procedures are more routine today than they were 10-15 years ago, isn't that wonderful? Heart by-pass was a serious life-threatening procedure in 1980. Today it is almost as routine as an appendectomy. If scientific medicine is able to develop new drugs that can relieve people's symptoms for longer and longer periods of time, isn't that progress? Shouldn't we be thankful? Well, in a sense it is helpful, but not in the long run.

If all we are doing is relieving people's symptoms but not making them any healthier, are we really making a difference? To feel more comfortable until you die may be a benefit to some but not for the many who are still years from their deaths. Let's not mistake comfortable deaths with the full expression of life and health. If we have virtually wiped out smallpox and developed a new vaccine for chicken pox but AIDS is growing every year, have we really made any progress? A recent study has shown that if cancer was completely eliminated today (which is highly unlikely inasmuch as the incidence of the disease is increasing), the average life span would only be increased by less than 1.5 years.

Here is the danger: medical advances may lull us into believing either that we are healthier or that being healthy is not important as long as we are disease-free. Yet, ridding the world of a disease like cancer will only increase the life span at best by 1.5 years and perhaps not that much if other diseases take its place. Medicine's progress is like the individual who cannot seem to live within a budget and is constantly using his credit card until it is "maxed out." Then the credit card company tells him not to worry because his limit has been increased by $2,000. That is the worst thing that could happen to him. It will treat the symptom for a while longer, delaying the inevitable which will be worse, he will have $2,000 more debt! But saddest of all, it will prevent him from addressing the real problem. His lifestyle and budget need to be altered so he can live without running to an ATM or spending money he doesn't have.

Similarly the greatest danger of medicine is that it works. It relieves symptoms, treats disease and makes you feel better to the point that you think you are better. Unfortunately, it has little to do with health. Mastering bypass surgery will not encourage us to live healthier lives which may lead to healthier hearts and thus prevent the very need for surgery. Health is the real need. People need to know that true health comes from within. The cure is not outside of you but rather inside. It consists of doing those things necessary to be healthy including eating nutrient dense foods, getting sufficient rest, moving and exercising, avoiding pollutants and dealing with mental and emotional stress positively. Just as importantly, it includes visiting the upper cervical doctor on a regular basis so that nerve interference or damage in the spine is corrected and the body's self-healing, self-regulating principle, the innate intelligence, is free to maintain your health. When this happens there is no limit to the quality of life and the benefits of all the other things you do to be healthy. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over again and expecting a different result. Something must change. That change begins with you.





*some information printed with permission from F-A-C-E.com*

Everything affects EvErYtHiNg.

More and more, the health fields are acknowledging the interrelationship of areas of health and human function that previously were thought to be unrelated. In the field of psychology, researchers are finding that depression weakens the bones, anxiety about eating can affect the menstrual cycle and stress can affect fertility. Whether these findings are actually true or not, they still underscore the fact that everything affects everything. We cannot be unhealthy mentally or emotionally and expect to be healthy physically. Conversely, we should expect our physical health to affect our emotional and mental well-being.

In a similar manner, we cannot expect what we put into our bodies in the form of medication to only affect one specific part. The entire body is affected by any drug that we take, regardless of its intended purpose. Those chemicals placed in the body in the form of caffeine and alcohol also affect our entire body. While everyone may not have experienced the wide-awake-in-the-middle-of-the-night, heart racing effects of caffeine, we have all seen the numbness of thought and loss of reflexes and coordination brought on by too much alcohol.

There is an up side to all of this. All those good things that we do to and for our bodies also affect us in every way. When school children eat a good breakfast, it not only helps make their bodies stronger, it enables them to do better in their class work. When you exercise regularly, you help to improve the digestion, absorption, metabolism and utilization of the food that you eat. Exercise helps your respiratory system and your cardiovascular system but it also helps you to get the most from your sleep, which in turn affects your ability to handle stress which affects your cardiovascular system and digestion. Are you beginning to see the point? Nothing done to or for the body occurs in a void; everything relates to everything!

This principle is nowhere more obvious than in upper cervical care. When a person undertakes upper cervical care, for whatever reason, the corrections have a profound and far-reaching effect upon the entire body. When the upper cervical doctor corrects a subluxation, the entire body is improved. Every system in the body functions at a higher level. The body has a greater potential to heal itself and resistance increases. But there are even unnoticed effects. The individual's ability to think, to reason and to make good decisions is improved. His or her ability to do their job, to relate to people and to be as effective as possible at work and play increases. Every aspect of one's life is better because of one little adjustment. How much better is the question. Frankly, we do not know. These things are not measurable. Granted, in some people drastic changes are noted. People's bodies heal themselves where before they could not. Athletes show marked improvement in performance, children do better in school. But the major improvements are going to be imperceptible at the time, like eating an apple. You do not see the immediate effects of eating the apple but you know that the body is better for it.

We may not see the immediate results of an adjustment but we know that upper cervical adjustments add to our health. You don't see the long term effects of hugging your kids every day but for some strange reason you keep on hugging them. Your life, for that matter, has an effect on the world around you. Your family, your church, your work, the world are affected by who you are. In fact, they wouldn't be the same without you. Be who you were created to be. No more, no less and have fun doing it!!!
(check out the video link below)

Questions Please?!?

One of the major differences between the practice of chiropractic and that of a therapeutic approach such as medicine is the desire to have knowledgeable, understanding patients. The physician often neither wants nor cares for the patient to know everything that he is doing. This is not a criticism, it just reflects the two different approaches. It is not necessary for the patient to understand the medical approach. They are totally uninvolved with the process. The patient does not participate in the surgery, he or she just lies there. The patient merely swallows the medication. Everything is done by the doctor. The practice of medicine is performed on the patient or done for the patient. Chiropractic is different.

Chiropractic is based upon the principle that the patient's body does the healing. It maintains health and it actually makes the adjustment, using the force introduced into the spine by the chiropractor's hands. Second, chiropractic is directed toward health and increasing one's potential for an improved quality of life in all areas. Obviously, this takes cooperation on the part of the patient. We will adjust you so that you can get the maximum benefit from your exercise. But you still must do the exercise. We correct your subluxations so that your body, free of nerve interference or damage, can get the maximum benefit from the food you eat. But we cannot eat the food for you. Chiropractic care is a cooperative effort, from the actual adjustment to the patient taking responsibility for being regular in his or her care.

Other doctors think that they are smarter than their patients so the patients should just do as they are told. The chiropractor works with your body's innate intelligence which is smarter than all the chiropractors and medical doctors in the world put together. As a result, it is the chiropractor's desire that you, the patient, learn more and more about the chiropractic lifestyle so that you can take a more active role in maintaining your health and directing your life. Then the chiropractor can step back and do the one thing he or she does best, which is correcting subluxations or nerve damage whenever they occur.

To be a participant in chiropractic, it is imperative that you, the patient, understand as much as you can about chiropractic and the "above-down, inside-out" approach to health care. If this term is unfamiliar to you, please ask your chiropractor to explain its meaning. We also have educational material for you to utilize. We hope that you will avail yourself of these materials. You see, we believe that people truly want to be knowledgeable about their life and health and not just be a bystander to what is being done to them. We believe that you can see by now that the therapeutic approach has made us a drug-dependent, disease-fearful society and while it may have limited success with disease treatment, it has very little to do with health or a full life for that matter. We hope you will read our materials, listen to our workshops and ask us questions. A wiser man than I once said: " Your life is determined not by the answers you have but by the questions you ask." What is health? The truth is that health has a lot more to do with quality of life than it does symptoms. Chiropractic is based on certain principles that help you to keep asking great questions?

Sharks Cure Cancer

One of the latest "breakthroughs" in the war against disease is the use of shark cartilage as a treatment for cancer. That's right! The cartilage of "Jaws" ground up into a powder or taken in liquid form is considered to be an effective treatment for certain tumors. Research has demonstrated that some tumors upon reaching a specific size will begin to secrete a chemical called "tumor angiogenesis factor" (TAF). This chemical causes blood vessels to form which feed the tumor, which in turn grows, spreads and becomes lethal. If the blood vessels are not formed because the chemical is not produced, the tumor is benign. The tumor needs the nutrients that the blood supplies in order to grow. Here is where the shark comes in. Research indicates that shark cartilage inhibits the production of this chemical. Apparently, sharks have almost no incidence of cancer and, of course, their body structures are primarily cartilage.

As usual, the outside-in or disease treating idea sounds good at first but then raises a number of questions. Is shark cartilage dangerous? Apparently the FDA has classified it as a food so its use is not regulated. Does it offer a cure or is it temporary? It seems that when the treatment was cut back in research animals that had cancer, tumors began to grow again. But more important than the questions which have been raised, is the fact that the disease-treating approach continues to take us in the wrong direction. Does it really make sense that mankind has been plagued with what is perhaps the most horrible of all diseases and that the cure has been hidden in the cartilage of what is perhaps the most horrible of all creatures, not to be found until just recently? I don't think so! Like every disease with which mankind suffers, the cure is not found in the depths of the ocean but in man himself. The ability to get well must come from within. Think about this for a moment. Shark cartilage may inhibit the growth of a tumor but the body must restore proper function. It may be another effective treatment of a particular disease but it has little to do with health.

The real benefit of the research into shark cartilage is that it reinforces the correctness of the inside-out or vitalistic approach to health. While it may have been proven that the tumor produces TAF, which enables it to grow, apparently most people's bodies produce a chemical that neutralizes the TAF, at least up to a certain age. This indicates that the body does have the wherewithal to fight off potentially cancerous tumors before they can take hold. If the chemistry of the body is functioning as it should, cancer is not a fear. Rather than trying to find drugs or shark cartilage to change body chemistry in order to fight cancer, it would seem to be more sensible to keep your body's chemistry working as perfectly as possible and thereby increase your potential to stay healthy. If we can do that, our incidence of cancer is bound to decrease and we can leave the sharks in the sea where they belong.

Regular upper cervical care promotes a healthier body physically, chemically, emotionally and intellectually.

Deductive Thinking

We chiropractic people just do not think the same as other people. While there are comparatively few who think the way we do, it is significant because it makes a dramatic difference in the way we live. And while it is different, I am confident it is right because logical reasoning says it is.

Chiropractic and chiropractic philosophy are based upon what is known as "deductive reasoning." Without providing a lengthy discussion as to what that is exactly, we can define this type of reasoning generally as "any set of logical reasoning that moves from a self-evident, true generality to a specific particular." For example, organization requires intelligence and the body is organized (both self-evident, true generalities), therefore the body must have an innate or inborn intelligence (more specific truth). It should be noted that this is in opposition to medical thinking that uses "inductive reasoning", which moves from a specific or part to a generality. For example, it has been noted that some smokers develop cancer (specific truth) and hence, the conclusion that smoking causes cancer (not necessarily a true generality). In fact, smoking in and of itself does not cause cancer. We know that because there are many smokers who never develop cancer and many more people who never smoked that have developed cancer. As you may know, part of the truth is not necessarily the truth. Let's look at some other examples, all of which were taken from a single issue of a popular "health" magazine.

One short news clip discussed the effects of ultraviolet B rays--the type that have been identified as causing sunburn--on the immune system. Findings of the only noted study showed that volunteers who were tested with an allergy-triggering chemical when sunburned and again three weeks later did not develop as much redness or swelling at the 2nd testing (specific). The author suggests that sun exposure weakens immune response (generality). Isn't it possible that the decreased redness and swelling at the second testing was a sign that the body was better able to adapt to the induced "stress?" It may be that the body had a way to recognize the chemical and so it responded in a less dramatic way. See how the conclusion is not necessarily true!?!

Another clip suggested that exercise could prevent the development of diabetes (a generality drawn from the following specifics). The article noted a study that showed that exercising once a week reduced the risk of developing diabetes by 23%, 2-4 times a week cut the risk by 38% and 5 or more times cut the risk by 42%. These numbers would suggest that indeed the conclusion is true but how do they determine risk? If a person does not have a disease and does not get a disease how do you know that they would not have developed the disease no matter what they did. The fact of the matter is that exercise is good for everyone and should be done in some manner regardless of your age, sex weight, or predisposition to any disease (self-evident truth).

You see, deductive thinking focuses on the entity--in these cases--health, while inductive thinking focuses on the absence of that entity--disease. So the next time you are reading a health magazine, remember there are two sides to every story. Try to think deductively and see if it makes more sense.

You've Got STRESS!!!

Your boss is getting on your nerves; you have to get a project finished but the phone keeps ringing; you still have not met the right person to marry to have the children you want so badly or you have children that are so bad you hardly want them; your car breaks down; your involved in a car accident; your bills are piling up; your in-laws are coming to dinner; your mother says she never sees you anymore; you are overwhelmed by your cholesterol count, your sodium intake, your sugar intake and your fat intake; you or someone you know has cancer or AIDS and YOU'VE GOT STRESS!!!

There is simply no escaping it. Our lives and the world we live in are loaded with stress. More than 66% of all visits to a primary-care physician are for stress-related disorders. The highest level of stress measured in the U.S. was in mothers with children under the age of 6 who also work outside the home. Every week 112 million people take medication for stress related disorders. Job stress costs American industry more than 150 billion dollars yearly in absenteeism, lost productivity, accidents and medical insurance. It is worth noting that some stress may be good. Many people are more alert, more productive and consequently happier and healthier with a certain amount of stress. Beyond that, however, it stops contributing to your ability to function and starts inhibiting it.

Stress is a double-edged sword. Things going wrong produce stress and it causes things to go wrong. Stress over an extended period of time can make you quit your job, can lead you to depression or to drugs and alcohol. All of these can and will certainly affect your ability to perform, your ability to earn money and your quality of life.

We all need to do more to combat stress, we have to learn to find a balance in our work and personal lives. Certainly there are some things that you simply can not do anything about, for example, the unexpected death of a loved one, natural disasters and accidents. However, everyone can and should carefully examine their lives and make an honest attempt to reduce the stress-producing circumstances that make unnecessary demands upon them. Determine which things you can do something about, concentrate your time and energy on them and try to avoid the obvious ones. We should emphasize wellness, focus on the positive and relax, whatever the circumstance.

Upper cervical care should also play an important role in your stress management. When a stress-inducing event occurs, muscles contract, breathing becomes faster and more shallow, heartbeat increases and digestion is halted. This all occurs as a response to a nervous impulse. Continually contracted muscles will cause subluxation or nerve damage and nerve damage will lower your ability to deal with stress. Of course, just as different situations produce varying amounts of stress for different people, different stress management techniques will have varying degrees of effectiveness. Some may benefit from exercise while others respond to meditation, deep breathing or spending time on an enjoyable hobby. Upper cervical care, however, can assist everyone because it removes nerve damage and and interrupts the contracted muscle/increased stress cycle.

Upper cervical care coupled with positive thinking, yoga and other stress management techniques can create a sense of well-being and a zest for life thereby leading to a longer, more productive, healthier life.

Children and Alignment

How often have you heard people say, "One day I felt fine, and then the next day I was just..."? Probably enough that you don't even recognize the absolute absurdity of that statement. Except for severe traumas, such as car accidents, major falls, gunshot wounds, poisoning, etc., people do not suddenly become ill. Disease does not occur spontaneously. Small traumas, long-term abuse and negligence, though unnoticeable at first, take their toll on the body over a period of time. By the time the first symptoms appear, the body has already been malfunctioning for some period of time, often years.
This is the primary reason to have children under regular upper cervical care. Studies have shown that 80% of children receive their first subluxation or nerve damage during the birthing process. Many of them will go 20, 30, or 40 years or possibly the rest of their lives with that interference in their brain, spinal cord and nerves. Even those who are not subluxated upon birth will have a variety of stresses put upon their spines as they grow. How many times does a child fall while he or she is just learning to walk? And after they learn to walk, don't they run, skip, stomp, jump and hop? Don't they fall out of bed, fall out of trees, off their bikes, fight with their siblings, stand on their heads, play football, basketball, baseball, soccer, gymnastics and dance?
Any one of these things is enough to cause nerve damage or subluxation. Left uncorrected, these will also begin to take their toll on the body. Lowering the ability of the body to be well will make them less able to concentrate, fight off disease, coordinate and balance, make the food that they eat into usable forms, clean the blood of toxins, and distribute the chemicals in the body that coordinate organ function. In short, they will be less able to be healthy, strong and flexible.

It is important to note that the mechanism that originally brought two cells together and created the miracle that is you is still at work in you as it is in every other living being. It continually creates new tissue and maintains you in existence. The very mechanism by which we are able to be well is the same mechanism at work in a child. It is no less effective in a child than it is in an adult. Therefore, if it is important for you to be aligned, isn't it equally or more important to have your children checked for the same interference or damage?
Many people are concerned about the forcefulness of an alignment for a growing child. That would be a legitimate concern if all patients received the same alignment. Thankfully, they do not. Each person is aligned according to their age, their size, the condition of their health and the specific way their body was made. Men may not be aligned the same as women, the same as children the same as elderly people, the same as tall, short or pregnant people. No two alignments are the same, let alone on two different people. Children, on the whole, require far less force than adults, mostly because time and stress have not yet taken their toll. Who better than children to be under regular upper cervical care? Who could profit more than those who have not yet developed health problems?


*some information reprinted with permission from the Foundation for the Advancement of Chiropractic Education*

Do you really want to be Healthy?

There is an old saying: “Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die to get there.” A similar statement could be made concerning health. In almost any survey taken asking people what they wanted most out of life, good health is one of the top three things on the list. The only two things that ever top it are happiness and good family relationships. Yet how many of us allow other less important things to keep us from attaining maximum health? Like happiness, health does not come by luck. It is true that hereditary factors are important to good health but most people can be healthy in spite of hereditary weakness. Conversely, hereditary strengths will not overcome a failure to take care of yourself.

Most people who come into a chiropractic office indicate a desire to be healthy. Unfortunately, they often do not realize that it will take some effort on their part. The average person’s experience with medicine has led them to believe that they will be made healthy by what the doctor does to them or what he gives them. They can just sit back, do nothing or at most, remember to take their medication every four hours. While this approach may be relatively effective in the treatment of disease, it has virtually nothing to do with health. For the most part, disease treatment is a passive activity. Health maintenance or health restoration is largely an active endeavor. Therein lies the problem. Sitting back and doing nothing will not promote or maintain health. Hoping or wishing for it will not make it happen. It must be actively pursued. A choice must be made. Good, nutritious, health-promoting food is available, but then so is junk food. You must make the decision as to what kind you are going to eat and then make the extra effort to get it. Exercise is not a passive activity. You cannot get fit by simply watching pilates videos.

Chiropractic is not a passive activity either. While it is true the patient lies on the table and relaxes, it is the body that makes the adjustment. The chiropractor introduces a force into the spine and the body’s muscles actively move the bone to exactly where it belongs. Further, the benefits of chiropractic care occur after the adjustment. Like exercise and eating, they are far-reaching and unlike treatments, they are not designed for short-term, immediate effects. It is true you may feel good after eating a good meal or after a good work out. You may also feel good right after a chiropractic adjustment, but the real benefits are the long-term ones. When the body is working better it can actively promote health and well-being and add years to your life.

There is another aspect that makes chiropractic care an active approach. The patient must make the commitment to care. The chiropractor cannot give you a bottle of adjustments and say: “Take one every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the next six weeks.” The patient must make the willful decision to come in regularly and follow the program. The chiropractor cannot follow you around or take you by the hand.

Do you really want to be healthy? Sadly, too many people do not want to pay the price which is time, money and effort. Happiness does not come by accident. Fame and fortune are not a matter of luck. Similarly, you cannot expect to have good health unless you do those things necessary to attain it. Every individual has to establish his or her priorities. Is watching television more important than exercising for your health? Is saving money by eating poor quality food more important to you than spending the few dollars for good food? Is doing whatever you do that interferes with regular adjustments more important than your health?

Only you can answer these questions and how you decide on these and other relative questions could very well determine your health, your happiness and your life.

Do you really want to be healthy? I think you do. But even more important, will you take the steps necessary to ensure health?